Rosehill Gardens Racecourse install CoolMist

Rosehill Gardens Racecourse install CoolMist

06-Jun-2018

In the humidity stakes, they hosed before they are home.

Article by Craig Young

AFTER three hours on the back of a horse float, Barbara Joseph's gallopers walk into mist-filled race-day stalls at Rosehill. ''It is fabulous, great for
the horses,'' Joseph said yesterday. ''The horses stand there nice and fresh, you don't even get wet yourself.''

The Sydney Turf Club installed cool mist sprays in the race-day horse stalls at Rosehill earlier this year in a bid to combat heatwave conditions. There is also a post-race spray in the parade ring.

''I first saw it in Perth, at Ascot racecourse,'' the STC's track manager Lindsay Murphy said. The cooling system was put in on temporary basis but it never came down, he explained. Three pumps make sure the system produces enough moisture.

''Very good … it is just so hot in here without the sprays,'' Kelly Williamson, a strapper for Bart Cummings, assured. ''The horses enjoy it, it
keeps them cool, they should put them in everywhere.''

Racing NSW chief veterinarian Dr Craig Suann is also a fan.''They help comfort a horse before they race,'' Suann said. ''It also assists with the post-race recovery of the horse, especially on a day like this.''

The Canberra-based Joseph said strappers also find the sprays comforting but it is all for the horse. ''It is terrific for horses like mine that have travelled
three hours to get here,'' Joseph said. ''They've been hosed down and look how relaxed they now are. ''I was at Goulburn and the heat was unbelievable.
This is great, a very good idea. You walk in there and you can feel the difference. I've got one horse going to sleep.''